A Half-Headed Evil Spirit

Gao Xian realized that Little Black Cat was an utterly heartless chowhound. Once she'd finished eating, she'd swished her tail and vanished without a trace.

With no cat to pet, Gao Xian had to make do with himself.

He cycled the Five Elements Technique through seventy-two circuits, then went out into the courtyard and practiced the Ice Arrow Art, Flame Bomb, and Flying Feather Art several times each.

He also took out the Pine-Patterned Longsword and practiced the Clear Wind Swordplay twice.

These were all part of Gao Xian's daily routine.

Back in his room, Gao Xian pasted One Yang Talismans and Three Yang Talismans around the doors and windows. Zhou Yuling had given them to him for self-defense, so he had to put them to use.

Looking at the talismans plastered across the doors and windows, Gao Xian felt completely safe.

Lying on the bed, Gao Xian took out the Wind and Moon Mirror and studied his personal stats.

The stats on the front of the Wind and Moon Mirror couldn't be improved with Humanity Aura. They could, however, be raised through cultivation.

The best part was that once raised, the stats wouldn't drop again. That was probably another of the Wind and Moon Mirror's remarkable qualities.

Gao Xian: Lifespan 24/66

Cultivation: Second Qi Refining Layer (31/200)

Five Elements Technique, Second Layer, Proficient (175/200)

Water Control Art, Expert (77/400)

Water Control Art, Expert (56/400)

Cleansing Art, Proficient (15/200)

Flying Feather Art, Proficient (121/200)

Clear Wind Swordplay, Beginner (85/100)

Alchemy Art, First-Tier Mastery (297/4000)

Qi Recovery Pill, Proficient (155/200)

Foundation Strengthening Pill, Proficient (161/200)

White Dew Pill, Proficient (177/200)

Ice Arrow Art, Mastery (224/300)

Flame Bomb, Mastery (256/300)

White Plum Needles, Mastery (32/300)

The stats on the front of the Wind and Moon Mirror proved he'd made decent progress lately.

His most important improvement was actually in the Five Elements Technique, which was already close to reaching the proficient level.

The key was Sister Lan. With her helping him condense the magical seal, cycling the Five Elements Technique became remarkably easy, and his progress had been very fast.

The progress on his other spells was also pretty good, thanks to Sister Lan's support.

Most crucial of all, his Qi Refining cultivation increased by a steady point each day. In a few more months, he'd be sure to break through to the third Qi Refining layer.

As far as he knew, this rate of cultivation was far better than the original owner's!

The stats on the back of the Wind and Moon Mirror were far more impressive than those on the front.

Great Idol Spirit Method: The heart senses within, the spirit descends without. High and low connect as one, the two qi unite to form a spirit. Its wonders are endless. (51/5000 Master)

Lightning Dragon Hand: Your hands move incredibly fast when performing simple, repetitive actions. A hidden force of lightning in your hands can bring intense, exquisite sensations to anything you touch. (78/400 Expert)

Soul-Bewildering Powder: Fine as dust, its scent barely perceptible. Those who inhale it lose their wits and become dazed, their limbs limp and bones weak. (Master 1/50)

Deer Antler Powder: A potent spiritual medicine that strengthens virility and kidneys and consolidates one's foundation. (Grandmaster 33/100)

True Yang Spear: Condense yang qi and forge it with divine sense into an invisible long spear. It can suppress spirits and break through evil spirits. (2/80 Expert)

As far as Gao Xian was concerned, the Great Idol Spirit Method was undoubtedly his most important technique. Sister Lan helped him tremendously in every way.

He cultivated dual qi with Sister Lan every day, gaining at least one point daily. When things went especially well, he could gain two or even three.

The problem was that the Great Idol Spirit Method required far too many points to level up. At this rate, it would take at least ten years.

The Lightning Dragon Hand was useful too. He could improve it by petting cats and people every day. And it improved best when he gave beautiful women a full-body massage.

The Soul-Bewildering Powder was useful, but not that useful. He might accidentally fall victim to it himself, and Gao Xian had no interest in leveling it up further.

Gao Xian was most satisfied with the Deer Antler Powder. It had taken very little Humanity Aura to make, yet worked extremely well. It could make him a fortune and earn him Humanity Aura too.

As for the True Yang Spear, which he'd learned from Zhou Ye, Gao Xian wasn't sure how effective it was against evil spirits.

He'd initially thought that the True Yang Spear had purged all the evil qi from his body.

But Little Black Cat had been so wary of him that Gao Xian couldn't help feeling something was wrong.

Before, Little Black Cat might have acted indifferent toward him, but she'd never avoided getting close to him.

Gao Xian's gaze settled on the True Yang Spear. He'd have to rely on this technique to drive away the evil spirit.

He sighed. "I still need to earn more Humanity Aura!"

Leveling up through cultivation was too slow. Spending Humanity Aura to add points felt incredible. If he had nothing to compare it to, that would be one thing.

Fortunately, he'd established a connection with Zhou Ye. With Zhou Ye helping sell the Deer Antler Powder, a large amount of Humanity Aura would soon be coming in.

Gao Xian checked the time. It wasn't too late yet, and he considered making a batch of Deer Antler Powder, but he really couldn't be bothered.

"Forget it. I'll get a good night's rest and recover my energy. I can get back to the grind tomorrow..."

Gao Xian touched the Six Yang Talisman at his chest. With such a powerful talisman from a beautiful woman, he could sleep soundly without worry.

He closed his eyes, and in his dreams, he went to meet Sister Lan...

When he opened his eyes again, a pale light was showing through the window. It looked to be around five in the morning.

He yawned, wondering if he should sleep a little longer. Then his gaze shifted, and he saw that several One Yang Talismans on the door had burned to ash. Fine black dust had drifted to the floor.

Still groggy, Gao Xian's heart clenched. Every hair on his body stood on end, and the chill of fear swept away every trace of sleepiness.

He sprang out of bed and went to the door to examine it closely.

He'd pasted seven One Yang Talismans on the door. Five had burned away, and more than half of the remaining two had been scorched.

There was no doubt about it. An evil spirit had come in the night, but the magical power of the One Yang Talismans on the door had driven it back.

Thinking that an evil spirit had come in the middle of the night while he hadn't noticed a thing, Gao Xian felt his palms grow slick with cold sweat.

"Damn it, damn it! We've got no grudge between us, so why are you after me?"

Gao Xian muttered a few curses. He was frightened and baffled, with no idea why the evil spirit had targeted him.

At least it didn't seem very powerful. The One Yang Talisman had held it off.

Zhou Yuling had given him dozens of One Yang Talismans and Three Yang Talismans. They could keep him safe for a few more days.

But he couldn't count on a beautiful woman's generous gift of talismans forever. He'd have to rely on himself. He needed to level up the True Yang Spear as soon as possible!

Gao Xian paced around the room a few times, then made up his mind. He couldn't keep lying around. He had to get back to the grind.

First, he went to the kitchen to start a fire and make breakfast. Gao Xian ate his fill, then left half a bowl of rice for the ungrateful Little Black Cat.

Little Black Cat might be heartless, but he was a man of honor and kindness!

While his body's spiritual qi was still abundant, Gao Xian cycled the Five Elements Technique through a hundred and eight circuits. When he came out of meditation, both his mind and body were in peak condition.

Taking advantage of how good he felt, Gao Xian went to the alchemy room, lit the fire, and started the furnace. He took out all the ingredients for the Deer Antler Powder and began washing, steaming, boiling, refining, and extracting them.

Most of the ingredients needed to be processed twice. Gao Xian had to do that work himself.

After more than half a day's work, the Deer Antler Powder was ready. This time, he'd made a full five pounds.

Gao Xian rolled the pills by hand and ended up with five hundred and seventeen.

After packing up five hundred little blue pills, Gao Xian carried a crate of Deer Antler Powder to the Spirit Talisman Hall.

This time, Gao Xian went through the back entrance. A servant woman in the courtyard recognized him and led him into the main hall.

Zhou Yuling waved to him from a distance but didn't come over to speak.

Gao Xian waited in the hall for quite a while before Zhou Ye finally arrived. Gao Xian hurried over to greet him. "Uncle Zhou, I've brought the medicine. Five hundred pills."

Zhou Ye opened the wooden crate and glanced inside. Seeing row after row of neatly arranged little blue pills put him in an excellent mood.

According to his agreement with Gao Xian, the Deer Antler Powder had initially been sold to him at a rate of twenty pills per Spirit Stone.

As Gao Xian had explained, they would need to give it away for free to promote it at first, and the two of them would split the promotion costs.

Once the Deer Antler Powder had found a market, its price would return to ten pills per low-grade Spirit Stone. Zhou Ye could then sell it to the public at double the price.

Since he didn't have to put up any capital, he could return any unsold Deer Antler Powder to Gao Xian. All the risk fell on Gao Xian.

Although Zhou Ye had to help buy replacement ingredients, Gao Xian paid for them.

Zhou Ye was very satisfied with this arrangement. Besides, he was also very optimistic about the Deer Antler Powder's prospects.

Taking advantage of Zhou Ye's good mood, Gao Xian hurriedly told him about encountering another evil spirit.

"Uncle Zhou, what should I do?"

Gao Xian asked for advice. "There's an evil spirit watching me day and night. I'm terrified."

Zhou Ye pondered for a moment. "Ordinarily, low-grade evil spirits aren't very intelligent. They wouldn't single out one person to stalk. If this one keeps watching you, it might have some connection to you.

He smiled as he asked, "Have you ever killed anyone? Maybe their resentment lingered after death and turned them into an evil spirit that wants revenge."

"Ah! Is that true, Uncle Zhou? Don't scare me." Gao Xian was shocked. He hadn't known anything like that could happen.

Zhou Ye had only been joking. He didn't think Gao Xian had the nerve to kill anyone. Seeing Gao Xian's face change, he was a little surprised. Had this kid actually killed someone?!

"If the evil spirit has a connection to you, then it makes sense that it's haunting you."

Zhou Ye advised him, "Why not buy more Three Yang Talismans? They're the best at suppressing evil spirits."

"Uh, then I'll take twenty One Yang Talismans for now."

Gao Xian still had some, but it was better to be prepared. It was always good to have more One Yang Talismans.

"Twenty One Yang Talismans? I'll give them to you, Uncle Zhou-style."

Zhou Ye was generous for once. One Yang Talismans weren't worth much, and given their business partnership, he was willing to help Gao Xian out.

When Gao Xian got home, he pasted more than ten One Yang Talismans on the doors and windows. Only then did he feel safe enough to rest.

Over the next few days, none of the One Yang Talismans on the doors and windows were damaged. The evil spirit seemed to have stopped coming.

Gao Xian gradually relaxed. It seemed the evil spirit was scared off.

Once Zhou Ye opened up a market for the Deer Antler Powder, he'd level up the True Yang Spear and deal with the evil spirit.

One day, Gao Xian was practicing swordplay in the courtyard when Zhu Qiniang arrived.

"An evil spirit has been wandering around Flying Horse Market, attacking people. It's already killed two cultivators. They say it has only half a head. It's terrifying..."

Before Zhu Qiniang could finish, Gao Xian's face had already changed.